I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"The rules of the game... are actually quite simple."

"Yako, have you ever heard of the 'obedience test' in psychology?"

...Acceptance test?

Was it some kind of external psychological experiment?

Although Ako had never heard of it, she could make a rough guess based on the keyword 'pet game' that Amamiya had mentioned earlier.

Could it be... some kind of terrifying psychological experiment that gradually turns people into pets?

"Don't look so scary, Aya... Psychology isn't that terrifying, it's not that shameless."

Meeting Ako's disgusted gaze, as if to say, "Sensei, you're not going to do something weird, are you?" Amamiya said with a mix of amusement and helplessness.

After thinking for a moment, he added, "...At least, modern psychology is not so 'unscrupulous'."

"So, does Sensei want me to cooperate with... this 'obedience test'? Or is it to play a 'pet game'?"

Ako was a little confused and didn't quite understand why Amamiya was starting to use some strange psychological keywords.

"The game we're going to play is related to an 'obedience test'... The game is called 'Pet Game'."

"As for the rules, they're even simpler..."

Amamiya explained the specific rules of the 'pet game' to Ako.

The so-called pet game is actually just two people flipping a coin, and one of them guesses heads or tails. If the winner wins, they can designate the other person to do something shameful, but not too outrageous.

Why bring up 'obedience test'?

This is because of the next rule of the pet game—the winner can indeed designate the loser to do something shameful, but this is not without limits…the loser cannot be designated to do something particularly shameful from the beginning.

Start with the simplest instructions and proceed step by step.

For example, the requirements of "learning to bark like a dog" and "pretending to be a dog lying on the ground barking" could be graded into levels of shame, such as level 1 and level 10.

At the beginning of the game, the winner can make the loser bark like a dog... but you can't specify that the other person should perform that embarrassing series of actions right from the start.

"In other words... this is a game where the 'cost' is gradually increasing..."

After listening to Amamiya's explanation of the rules, Ako's eyes sparkled, eager to try them out.

“Come on, Sensei…”

"I accept your challenge."

Chapter Sixty-One: She still has to thank us.

After one hour.

"Is it heads or tails this time?"

Night had fallen, and the blue-haired girl, unwilling to accept defeat, gritted her teeth as she watched the coin being tossed back and forth by Amamiya's nimble fingers.

His expression was more focused than ever before, even conveying a resolute air that was "unprecedented in his life"—

With the resolute determination to "bet her future and her path," Ako took a deep breath and said firmly and confidently, "...I choose the other side!"

"Are you sure...?"

Amamiya smiled meaningfully: "This is Ako's thirty-second consecutive loss, you know? If you choose wrong again this last time... you'll have to wear a collar and be led around like a dog..."

"confirm!"

Ako's eyes burned with intensity; her moon-blue eyes shone with nothing but a desire for victory.

That resolute gaze gave Amamiya a strange sense of déjà vu, as if Amamiya might pull out a small scythe from some unknown place at any moment, smear it with dark purple grease, and fight her to the death.

Amamiya stopped provoking Ako and casually tossed the gold coin in her hand away.

"Ding~~"

The sound of the coin being tossed was particularly pleasant, and Ako also raised her head, her gaze rising and falling with the gold coin, finally settling on the table.

'I'm guaranteed to win... I specifically calculated a special coin toss formula based on Sensei's rhythm, force, and habits... As long as Sensei tosses the coin with that motion, my guessing percentage will be over 80%.'

'If I win this round, I'll finally get my revenge! I can also record Sensei's embarrassing moment and use it as leverage to make Sensei pay more attention to the disciplinary committee... or at least pay more attention to me...'

'Splash~'

As if guided by some unseen destiny, the gold coin traced an arc of golden shadow in the air before landing on the table and spinning several times.

Then... right under Ako's increasingly terrified gaze, it landed face up on the table with a 'thud'.

"..."

Ayako's pupils trembled slightly. After a brief hesitation, she took a half-step back in disbelief and began to murmur, "How could this be... Sensei's coin-flipping motion and posture were exactly the same, and the probability of choosing was also..."

She had already checked the gold coin; it was an ordinary gold coin, and there was no possibility of cheating.

The way it was thrown was also perfectly normal... She had seen it more than fifty times before.

but why……

Even though the 'high probability event' with an 80% or higher chance of occurrence didn't happen along with it...

"I'd rather believe, rather than probability, that some vague concept of fate is at work right now."

Amamiya picked up the gold coin and held it between her fingers, tossing the heavy coin repeatedly while saying meaningfully, "Ako... sometimes you shouldn't place too much faith in the possibilities and consequences derived from data on paper."

After putting away the coins, Amamiya took out the specially prepared, brand-new red pet collar.

"You have to accept the consequences of your bet, Yako."

“Guwu…!”

After letting out a sob filled with resentment, Ako gritted her teeth and grabbed the red collar that Amamiya handed her. Without hesitation, she skillfully put the collar around her neck.

She looked like a defeated person who had suffered injustice and humiliation, extremely unwilling but also extremely helpless. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she bent over angrily, slowly lying down on the ground like a puppy.

"Is this... okay?!"

For some reason, she seems like a 'defeated female knight'...

Amamiya clapped his hands, 'encouragingly' saying, 'As expected of the Disciplinary Committee's administrative officer, you really keep your word...'

Yako, humiliated by being led by the rope around her neck by Amamiya, was so humiliated that she began to tremble slightly.

After hearing Amamiya's 'praise', her trembling intensified further—however, the favorability notes floating above her head betrayed her true feelings at that moment.

【~???~】

"Woo..."

"I will never forget this humiliation...!"

Is it 'humiliating'...?

Amamiya glanced down at the girl who was lying there like a dog, acting all coy but actually giving off a feeling of 'indulgent enjoyment'.

I get the feeling that you not only don't feel humiliated, but actually enjoy it.

"Look up, let your master pet you."

Amamiya beckoned to Ako as if teasing a puppy, while making a 'squeak' sound to attract the attention of a cat or dog.

"...Sensei, that's enough..."

With a voice distorted by shame, as if filled with a deep-seated hatred, Yako finished speaking in a low voice, and obediently crawled over.

Then, reluctantly, he puffed out his cheeks and raised his head.

Amamiya crouched down and began to skillfully stroke the head of her newly acquired 'large dog'.

"Yoshi yoshi... You're very good."

As Amamiya began to pat Ako's head, "Animal Affinity" (Kayoko's Bond Ability) naturally began to take effect.

At first, she seemed a little reluctant, but she quickly became confused.

Gradually, she transformed her humiliating 'canine posture' into a kneeling, duck-like sitting position. The unnaturalness and resistance in her expression, along with the pressure, gradually disappeared as Amamiya teased her with his little 'canine' gestures.

'Strange...it feels so good...'

He lightly patted his head, scratched his chin, and touched his neck... These are actions that seem strange to people, and even somewhat inappropriate...

Why do I not feel any sense of awkwardness at all, but instead feel very comfortable?

Ako didn't immediately think about such a question—until Amamiya gradually stopped stroking her.

As that special feeling of comfort gradually faded away, Ayako began to feel a little irritable.

She looked up and glanced at Amamiya, who had a half-smile on her face, with a puzzled expression.

Confirming that Amamiya had no intention of continuing to stroke her, she hesitated for a moment before making a move that even she herself hadn't expected—

He lowered his head and gently rubbed the top of his head against Amamiya's hand, which was suspended in mid-air.

Then... she stuck out her slippery little tongue and licked Amamiya's palm.

After completing this set of movements, before Amamiya could say anything, Ako herself was stunned.

no……

What am I doing?

"It seems... Ayako, you're not as humiliated as you appeared... you seem to be enjoying it?"

"Comfortable?"

Amamiya's voice, which sounded like a half-smile throughout, sent a chill down Ako's spine.

"The reason they took that action... must have been due to Sensei's influence."

Amamiya chuckled, "I haven't even said anything yet."

Ako: "..."

After dodging Amamiya's teasing gaze, Ako realized it was pointless.

So she simply stopped pretending and took the collar off her neck as she got up.

"Sensei's... pet game is really baffling. Let's stop playing here for now..."

After taking out her cracked phone and checking the time, Ayako's previously calm expression immediately turned somewhat astonished and even frightened.

—Huh? Without realizing it… it's almost midnight?!

Her mind cleared instantly, and Yako didn't even bother with a polite farewell. She turned around and walked out of the office.

As she reached the door, Ako suddenly remembered something. She looked at the collar she hadn't yet put down in her hand, then turned back to look at Amamiya with a complicated expression.

"..."

"Is Ayako concerned about the collar? Don't worry, this collar can be given to you as a gift."

【~??~】

Ayako paused for a moment, then glared at Amamiya with a hint of annoyance.

“…Sensei, I’m not thinking about the collar, but about the ‘obedience test’ you mentioned earlier.”

"I know."

As Ayako subtly coiled the collar and its cord into her pocket, Amamiya pretended not to notice her little action and turned her gaze to the neon-lit night view outside the window.

"Yako... In that series of games where you 'lost more than you won,' you must have felt the shame of 'repeatedly breaking the bottom line,' and the feeling that 'breaking the bottom line became easier and easier, and you felt less and less psychologically burdened,' right?"

Upon hearing this, Ako recalled the more than one hour of experience that she considered a 'shame of her life'—a game that was actually 'shameful torture'.

Thinking about it carefully... it really is true.

She's been losing more than winning today, which is a simple game of tossing a coin...

In more than fifty games, she lost nearly 45 times.

—Some of these were 'discontinuous' losses.

The 'punishment games' gradually became more and more extreme... from initially making shameful acts, to later imitating dog barking, and finally to the final punishment segment...

From initial hesitation, I became decisive and resolute, even exhibiting a frenzied and reckless determination, much like a gambler who had lost everything... I did it without feeling any shame or hesitation, even when I put on a collar and started barking like a dog...

Although throughout the process, I inexplicably felt a sense of relief, as if my pressure had been released...